The Waffles Were Delicious
by crazykitsune17
Summary: Botan goes through a lot of trouble just to ask Hiei out on a date... Are her efforts for naught? Oneshot, HB.


Disclaimer: Three guesses who owns YYH. And the first two don't count.

**The Waffles Were Delicious**

_by crazykitsune17_

The pastel pink journal was shoved in between the pages of her black Spirit World appointment book, poorly disguised as a list of the newly dead. Of course, the script was too abundant to simply be a list of names, but the blue-haired grim reaper of the Spirit World never expected anyone to question her response. Unfortunately, Keiko Yukimura knew her too well.

"What's that you're writing, Botan?" Keiko asked inquisitively, taking a seat on the park bench beside her.

"What?" Botan looked up from her journal and quickly closed it shut, forgetting to close the appointment book along with it in her haste. "Oh, nothing. Just stuff for the Spirit World." She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. Keiko raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to peer at the pink diary in Botan's lap.

"That's a diary, isn't it?" she said, tapping the book with her finger.

Again, Botan yelped, "What? Uh… no, no it isn't! I told you, it's Spirit World stuff!" This time Botan closed the Spirit World appointment book on top of her journal. "Definitely _not_ a diary!"

"Botan, you're a terrible liar."

Botan's expression dropped into a frown and she sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. It _is_ a diary. But you don't need to tell anyone, okay?"

"Why would I? I don't even know what's in it."

Botan blinked. "But…" she started slowly, "aren't you going to ask me?"

"Of course I am!" cried Keiko. "What were you writing about? A boy?"

"Well… maybe…"

Keiko nudged Botan's arm and grinned. "We could discuss it at my parent's shop. I'll buy you tea if you tell me who it is!"

"Oh, Keiko, I couldn't—"

"I'll throw in a sugar cookie."

Tapping a finger to her lips in mock thought, Botan giggled and replied, "All right, you got me. Let's go!" She shoved the appointment book and her journal into her miniature backpack and ran with Keiko to her parents' deli.

---

Biting into the fresh sugar cookie that Keiko had ordered, Botan's rose-colored eyes sparkled as she tried not to smile too much at the thought of the one she was writing about. Keiko watched her intently, waiting until Botan took the very last, drawn-out nibble on the biscuit.

"So!" Keiko pressed, swiveling around on the bar stool to face her friend better. "Who is it?"

"Well…" Botan paused. "Oh, I don't know if I should say this. It's a rather hopeless cause once you think about it…"

"Come on, Botan! I used to think Yusuke was hopeless, too."

"With good reason," muttered Botan, and the two girls both laughed. "All right, fine." She tilted her head left and right, looking over her shoulder so as to make sure nobody would overhear. "It's Hiei."

Keiko's eyes widened. "Hiei? Wow, that's… not what I expected!"

Botan looked mildly offended. "Just who _were_ you expecting then?"

"I don't know…" Keiko gazed around uncomfortably before shrugging. "Someone… I don't know, more… cheerful?"

Botan laughed. "Yes, I know, it seems our dear friend Hiei isn't exactly the friendly, chipper type. But I like him all the same. I guess it's his… oh, what do you call it… dark allure? Something new? I don't know. I suppose I've been crushing on handsome, pale Spirit World workers for too long, and it was time for a change. Liking the bad boys is in style these days, you know!" She winked and pointed a finger.

Keiko smiled. "Too true. The girls who aren't horrified and scared stiff that I'm in love with Yusuke think it's 'so sexy' how such a goody-goody like me is with such a punk like him." She brushed her hair back from her shoulders with an offhand flick of the wrist and continued, "But, of course, they just don't understand that Yusuke isn't all that bad of a guy despite the fact that he had punched out half of the city by the time he was twelve…"

"You're right. He sure is a sweetheart on the inside."

"Maybe Hiei's like that too?" Keiko prompted, giving her shoulders another unsure shrug. "Hiding his true emotions under that thick coat of indifference and hostility?"

"Ooh, Keiko, you may be onto something there!" said Botan, her eyes aglow with excitement. "Maybe Hiei's not such a hopeless case after all! Maybe he isn't just a demon with a bad temper and is actually a loveable fluffball on the inside!"

Keiko sweatdropped. "Er… yeah!" She felt like crossing her fingers behind her back. While Keiko had only known Hiei for barely just a few years, the impression he gave off was one of definite hostility and antisociality. He didn't seem like the type who had even the remotest possibility of harboring an inner soft side. Quick-witted and sharp-tongued, Hiei definitely did not seem like Botan's type. _Oh well… as they say, opposites attract! And who knows, maybe I'm wrong. I don't know Hiei all that well anyway. For all I know, all he really needs is some love…_ "Go for it, Botan! Maybe you should ask him on a date."

"You think so?" Botan's eyes widened so far, Keiko thought they were about to pop right out of her face. They glistened and gleamed with hope and a hint of deviousness. "I don't know… I don't think he'll go for it…"

Keiko didn't think so either, but she kept her mouth shut. "You never know. Maybe he will…"

"Oh, dear, I hope he doesn't think I'm being too forward," gasped Botan suddenly, putting a hand over her mouth. "I don't want him to kill me!"

Were it any other person but Hiei, Keiko would've laughed off Botan's remark as utter absurdity, but the fact that Hiei could very well kill Botan if he felt the need to was nothing to be taken lightly. The stoic fire demon was unpredictable at times and a ruthless cutthroat when necessary. Having never shown affection towards any other girl besides his sister, neither Keiko nor Botan knew how exactly he would react to being asked out on a date.

After a tentative pause, Keiko slowly spoke. "I… don't think he'll kill you, Botan… The worst he could do is say no…"

"Right. And slice me in half if I happened to offend him by asking." Botan put her chin in her hands and moped for a couple seconds. Keiko moped with her. She wanted Botan to be happy, but in the back of her mind, she whispered, "Why did Botan have to pick _Hiei_ to have a crush on? With that guy, it's like trying to play matchmaker with a brick! It'll be impossible to set them up!"

"Well… maybe I'll talk to Yusuke for you and see if he can get Hiei to... well… not kill you at least," suggest Keiko hopefully.

Once again, Botan's eyes sparkled. "You think that would work? I know Hiei does listen to Yusuke… most of the time, anyway. Oh, thank you, Keiko! Thank you so much!" Botan leaned across her bar stool and gave Keiko a hug. "It's been lovely chatting, Keiko, but I really must run. I'm afraid that I really do have Spirit World work to be doing. See you, Keiko! Don't forget to talk to Yusuke for me!" She swung her mini backpack over her shoulders and hopped off the bar stool, sprinting out the restaurant and onto the street where she then materialized her oar and flew off into the clouds.

Keiko drained the last of her tea and gathered the cups on the counter, taking them to the kitchen to be washed, all the while mulling over Botan's strange new fascination with Hiei. _I don't get it… Botan's so… bright and cheery, and Hiei's so… dark and moody… _She ran the dishes under hot water in the sink and chuckled slightly to herself. _Right. Yusuke and I are almost the same in that essence. I forgot. Love sure is strange…_

---

"Oh, hi, Yusuke! Come right in, have a seat. I'll go get Keiko for you," said Mrs. Yukimura as Yusuke walked into the Yukimura shop around nine-fifteen that evening. Yusuke nodded his thanks and took a seat on a bar stool, shrugging off his jacket and dumping it on the floor beside him. Mr. Yukimura fetched him a dinner – charged at half-price for such a "frequent customer" – and his wife fetched Keiko, shouting up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Keiko! Yusuke's here to see you!"

"Oh, good! I'll be right down!" Keiko closed the book she was reading, marking the page with a red ribbon then trotting down the stairs with a smile on her face. She had been expecting Yusuke that night; she called him shortly after Botan left. Of course, she had been expecting Yusuke at nine o'clock, but fifteen minutes wasn't the most he'd ever been late before.

"Hi, Yusuke!" she greeted, taking a seat next to him and smiling brightly. Yusuke twitched a lip slightly in return then proceeded with his tardy excuse.

"Sorry I'm a little bit late. The arcade closes at nine, but I was in this really intense chase on Tokyo Cop and I didn't want to waste my last game token, you know, so I had to keep on playing it until the manager kicked me out. I was in the zone, you know, totally kicking this guy's ass… I ran over here as fast as I could."

Keiko rolled her eyes and heaved a cold, exasperated sigh before asking her father for a soda. Mr. Yukimura handed her a bottle of Coke, and she opened it, letting the fizz simmer a bit before taking a drink. Yusuke shrugged and dug into his own dinner and Coke for a minute before speaking again.

"So what did you want, Keiko? You asked if I could do you a favor on the phone."

"Right," said Keiko. "Well…" She wasn't sure how to begin. "Well, Botan and I were talking today, and I asked her if she had a crush on anybody – because, see, she had this diary, and you know, I just assumed that she was writing about a boy—"

"Because all girls write gushy love stuff in their diaries about the boys they like," droned Yusuke, rolling his eyes. "Sheesh. Girls are stupid. Why don't they just _tell_ the guys that they like them instead of just writing about it all day long in their stupid diaries?"

Keiko ignored him and continued, "_Anyway_, Botan did tell me who she liked… and… she was wondering if you would maybe talk to him for her… convince him not ki—I mean, convince him maybe to go on a date with her?"

"And why should I do this? Why can't you? I don't want to be some stupid messenger person going up to a guy and saying, 'Oh, Botan told Keiko to tell me to tell you that Botan likes you' or something stupid like that." Yusuke stabbed his rice with a chopstick. "Why can't you play matchmaker? I'm no good at that kind of stuff anyway."

"Because Hiei actually listens to you!" shouted Keiko. Then, realizing her slip, covered her mouth and giggled slightly.

Yusuke put down his chopsticks and stared at Keiko. "Woah, woah, _what_! The guy Botan likes is _Hiei_!"

Keiko nodded. "I know, weird huh?"

"Weird is an understatement!" scoffed Yusuke. "Why would Botan go for a guy like that? Hiei's an uptight prick who wouldn't even get a hard-on from a Brazilian stripper! He'd never agree to go on a date with Botan!"

"Yusuke! That's disgusting!" Keiko raised a hand to slap him for such a remark but thought better of it and dropped her arm. "Anyway… yes. What I – _she_ – wants you to do is talk to him, maybe give him a little heads-up about the date offer… Convince him to leave his sword at home…"

"Fat chance."

"Come on, Yusuke! Just do it, please? It's just a small favor!" Keiko pleaded. "It'll make Botan really happy!"

"And what if Hiei says no to a date?"

"Well… at least you tried…"

Yusuke tilted his stool back and balanced it on its back two legs. "Ehh… I don't know, Keiko." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. "What's in it for me?"

"Yusuke! It's not like I'm asking you to risk your life or anything!"

"Oh, you don't know that! This _is_ Hiei we're talking about here!"

"Just talk to him!"

"All right, all right, fine. But just as a little restitution…" Yusuke put his stool back on the ground and quickly pinched a handful of Keiko's backside. "There we go, _now_ it's worth risking my life…"

"Yusuke, you jerk!" Keiko wasted no time in smacking Yusuke off his chair and into a crumpled, twitching heap on the ground. Keiko's parents turned around and quizzically asked, "Is something wrong, Keiko dear?"

Keiko went back to her Coke. "Oh, no, nothing at all. Yusuke just slipped. Didn't you, Yusuke?"

"Yeah… I slipped… Oww…"

---

"Hiiiiiei… Oh, _Hiiiii_ei… Damn, this is pointless. Hiei could be anywhere in this lousy city. All this work just to talk to him about some stupid date…" Yusuke grumbled, kicking pebbles as he wandered the streets around his neighborhood. Yusuke was unsure of Hiei's local hangouts these days, so he took to just aimlessly calling out his name and scaring the birds away from their nests. "_Hiiiii_ei…"

Yusuke stopped, looked around, listened. He couldn't sense Hiei's Spirit Energy anywhere within the next ten miles. He shrugged and continued on his way, hands in his pockets, pausing now and then to call out the fire demon's name.

Midway downtown, Yusuke bought a subway ticket that would take him to Kurama's end of town. Hiei and Kurama were a semi-inseparable pair; perhaps Hiei was with the fox demon.

Kicking his feet up on the seat in front of him, Yusuke yawned and enjoyed the ride to Kurama's neighborhood, still slightly baffled about Botan's odd crush on Hiei. _That poor girl's just asking for trouble by liking him… I wonder, does Koenma know about this? He'll have a field day with that kind of news!_ He chuckled to himself, imagining Botan confronting Koenma.

"Koenma, sir. I have something to tell you."

"Yes, what is it, Botan?"

"I… I have a mad, horrible crush on Hiei and I'm taking time off from work to go on a date with him."

"Say _what_?"

Yusuke laughed louder, earning himself an annoyed grunt from the lazy-eyed passenger on his left. He then closed his eyes and let the metro take him to his destination.

---

Yusuke banged on Kurama's front door, and his mother answered. "Oh, it's you," she said sweetly. "Kurama's upstairs with a friend over. You can go and join them if you'd like."

"Sure, thanks." Yusuke slipped off his shoes, hoping that Kurama's "friend" would be Hiei.

Going up the stairs, he heard a familiar "Hn" and grinned. _What luck! It _is_ Hiei!_

He burst into Kurama's bedroom, where Hiei was playing the television, idly flipping through the channels and grumbling about the idiocy of human TV programs.

"What, like the TV's any better in the Demon World?" said Yusuke, grinning sarcastically and taking the remote from Hiei's hands. He flopped on Kurama's bed upside down and commented, "Hey! I like this show!"

Hiei glanced from the screen to Yusuke, red eyes flaring in annoyance. It was a music video show with dozens of good-looking women in bikinis and thongs dancing crazily to a loud punk-pop song. "Actually," Hiei growled, "we don't have television in the Demon Realm."

"I know, sheesh. Where's your sense of humor…?" Yusuke clicked the remote and switched the channel to a vapid game show with smiling host in a grey suit shouting, "Bingo! Bingo!" when one of the contestants hit a buzzer. The cry of "Bingo!" reminded him of why he was here, and after cordially saying hello to Kurama, turned to Hiei and cut right to the chase. "Say, Hiei, Botan kinda likes you, and she wants you to go on a date with her."

Kurama turned away from his desk where he was perfecting some sort of botanical experiment with demon seeds to look at Yusuke in shock. Hiei merely raised an eyebrow. "So?" he grunted.

"So…" Yusuke dragged out the word exaggeratedly. "So you should let her take you out on one."

"No thanks."

Kurama quietly interjected, "Yusuke, did you say _Botan_ has a crush on Hiei…?"

Yusuke ignored him and continued on. "Aw, come on, Hiei, have you ever even _been_ on a date?"

"No, and I don't want to, either. I'd rather sit here and watch this ridiculous human television show." To prove his point, he turned his eyes back to the TV and pretended to look increasingly interested.

"Hiei, give her a chance," said Kurama. "You might like her back, you know."

Hiei glared at Kurama, breathing a sigh of exasperation. "No. I won't. I am not and never will be attracted to anyone – apparition or especially human. It's useless. Tell the girl I said no."

"Oh, Hiei, Botan's very pretty. She's nice, too. Perhaps she'd do you some good…"

"Yeah, like cool off that hot temper of yours!" said Yusuke, ruffling Hiei's hair playfully. Hiei angrily swatted him away, quickly turning back to the TV.

"I said no!" he shouted. "Now leave me alone!"

"Hiei!" said Kurama sharply. "Just go on one date with Botan. It'll be better than spending your days here, watching my TV."

"I don't sit here and watch TV all day," said Hiei, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Uh-huh." Kurama crossed his arms. "Just one date, Hiei, it won't kill you. You don't even have to do anything. It'll make Botan happy."

"Yeah, you don't wanna make Botan cry, do ya?" Yusuke teased.

Grinding his teeth, Hiei finally relented. "Fine," he growled. "Just one… 'date'. That's it. Don't expect anything 'special' of me, either. I'm not doing this because I want to."

"All right!" yelled Yusuke, pumping his fist in the air. "You won't regret it, man. Botan is one good catch!" He winked, then flipped the TV channel back to the music videos.

---

After relaying the good news to Botan, the ferrygirl decided to have Hiei meet her for breakfast at a fancy café uptown. "You're more of a morning person, right?" Botan had said, to which Hiei replied with a grunt. Not troubled by his noncommittal reply, she added, "They serve wonderful waffles. And you'll love the blueberry syrup!"

Botan had dressed herself in a tight pair of jeans and a pink top, looking chipper as usual as she waited near the entrance of the Sunshine Café for her date.

Hiei arrived moments later, a scowl on his face and his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He grunted a guttural "Hello", then walked in through the automatic doors with Botan at his side.

"Table for two, please," said Botan happily to the hostess. The hostess nodded and led the couple to a quiet window booth in the corner. She gave Botan a small smile as she handed out the menus and rattled off the extensive list of coffee flavors they offered. Hiei looked bewildered at all of the various names for coffee ("We have mocha mint Colombian mix, steamy mocha caramel chocolate, decaf steamy mocha caramel chocolate, steamy mocha caramel chocolate with milk…"), so Botan simply ordered tea for both of them.

"What kind of tea? We have minty green tea, raspberry honey tea, green tea with lime…"

"Don't you just have any regular coffee?" grumbled Hiei. "Black?"

"Black coffee for you, sir? All right. And you, miss?"

"Hmm… I think I'll just take orange juice, if that's all right…"

"Certainly. I'll give you some time with your menus and bring you your drinks right away." The hostess disappeared and left Botan and Hiei sitting in silence, staring at each other.

"I'm really glad you agreed to go on this date with me," said Botan, a pink tinge rising in her cheeks. "It means a lot to me."

"Hn."

"I really thought you would bite my head off and say no. I was really surprised."

"Hn."

"I've kind of liked you for a while…"

"Is that so."

Relieved at Hiei's attempt at conversation, Botan exhaled audibly, her bangs flopping in front of her eyes as she thrust her head down. "Yes. It's kind of silly, I know, a girl like me, liking someone like you…"

"I think it's absurd."

"Yes… well… that too…" Botan chewed on her lip. "So… what have you been up to lately?"

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"Of course it isn't…" She waited for him to ask her what she was up to, but when no question came, she answered anyway, "I've been doing a lot of work in the Spirit World. And not the fun kind of work, either. Real dull, ogre-level stuff. Nothing exciting going on anymore…"

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"I suppose, yes! You're right!" Botan laughed.

Eventually, the hostess came back and took Hiei's and Botan's orders (both waffles with blueberry syrup), assuring them that they had made the "perfect choice" before whisking away to the kitchens again. The conversation at the table returned to one-sidedness with Botan nearly at a loss for awkward stabs for topics.

"How's… Yukina?"

"Fine."

"That's good to hear."

"Hn."

At last, the waffles came and Botan and Hiei were able to immerse themselves in their food. Hiei seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the blueberry-covered waffles, shoveling pieces of them into his mouth at a steady pace, pausing every so often to drink his coffee. Botan ate her breakfast at a more leisurely pace, entranced somewhat by Hiei's obsession with the blueberries. She watched him rub pieces of waffle into the purplish blueberry sauce with vigor, trying to catch every last drop of the goopy, fruity syrup.

"You like them?"

"Hn? Yeah."

The rest of the breakfast continued in silence until Botan finished and the hostess cleared their plates away, handing them the bill. Botan began to take out her purse when Hiei slapped a note on the table, covering both the meal expense and the tip. "Let's go," he said, sliding out of his booth.

Blushing, Botan scooted out of her seat as well and followed Hiei out the door.

Once out of the café, Hiei stopped at the end of the sidewalk and looked at Botan in the eye. She seemed pretty happy, satisfied. _What could I possibly expect from Hiei? This was nice_… Hiei's eyes then darted around, looking for spies or just plain regular people. He then sighed and took Botan's hand in his. Kurama had told him to do this, said it was "nice" and "gentlemanly". Her hand was warm but his were warmer, and she heated up at the touch.

"You were right. The waffles were delicious," Hiei started, not looking the girl in the eyes. He sighed again and continued bluntly, "Botan, you know I can't carry on a… relationship… with you. It's not something I do. I'm a demon, a killer. I don't 'date'. Sorry."

Botan's smile melted, looking slightly melancholy. "I know. I understand. You… do what you need to, Hiei, and… thank you…" She let go of Hiei's hand and proceeded to walk away, but Hiei did something surprising her.

"Huh? Hiei…?"

The fire demon wrapped his arms around meekly around Botan, trying to force his body to relax against hers. Botan smiled and returned the embrace, breathing in the fire demon's comfortable scent, feeling warmer on the inside than she'd ever felt in her life.

After a short moment, Hiei let go, offered an odd sort of smile, turned around and waved Botan off.

A/N: Hah. My first HieixBotan fic. I personally don't like the pairing, but this was still something fun to do. This is also my first fanfic in several months. Hope I've gotten a little bit better… Anyway, reviews would be _much_ appreciated! Thanks for reading!

-crazykitsune17-


End file.
